[This unedited press release is made available courtesy of Gamasutra and its partnership with notable game PR-related resource GamesPress.]

November 9, 2012 - Kerberos Productions has
released a playable Alpha Demo today for their first self-published
title, "Sword of the Stars: The Pit."

"Sword of the Stars: The Pit" is a fun, fast, light-hearted
action RPG, made in the tradition of Rogue and other old school
dungeon-diving games. Set in the popular Sword of the Stars
universe, the game delivers sharp retro graphics and modern
turn-based gameplay. Although the art style is light and the game
is readily accessible to all, the role-playing mechanics under the
hood are crunchy, and will appeal to players who appreciate depth
and challenge, as well as death-by-adorable-monsters.

The Alpha Demo includes the Engineer, one of the game’s
three playable Characters, a brief Tutorial, and five playable
levels to explore, which include a good cross section of monsters,
traps, and items. The full game, which will release with 30
playable levels, is considerably larger in scope.

“This Alpha Demo offers only about 10% of the game’s
total content,” says Lead Designer Martin Cirulis. “But
it should give players a good feel for the Roguelike gameplay, with
the retro art style and the skill-based RPG aspects. While The Pit
keeps getting bigger as you go deeper, and you will encounter more
and more threats, weapons, and devices from the SotSverse, the
first 5 floors - even at this alpha stage - will be an excellent
way for gamers to tell if The Pit is for them. And it's just plain
fun!”

Kerberos is currently running a crowd-funding campaign for The
Pit on Indiegogo. The campaign has garnered considerable support
from players of the company’s Sword of the Stars series of
strategy games, and will end on November 14th.

“People will still be able to support the game after
November 14th through the game’s dedicated website,
especially if they just want Beta access.” says Kerberos COO
Chris Stewart. “Obviously a few of the fancier Perks will not
be available. Those are limited time offers for the game’s
early supporters.”

The Pit is scheduled for a beta release in late November or
early December. The final game will be available on Steam in
January or February of 2013.